True Love's Kiss
by soon2befamous13
Summary: When Charming & Co. go off to search Neverland for something to save Henry, Regina is left to guard him. Peter Pan stops by, not knowing Regina is watching from behind the bushes. She's not sure what she expected, but it definitely wasn't this. Peter Pan/Henry. They are not related.
1. Chapter 1

"I say we split up and search the island for anything that might help Henry," Mary Margaret is saying. "I mean, Neverland is full of magic, right? There has to be something here."

"Good plan," David nods. "But we shouldn't all go off alone. We should probably split up into pairs."

"There's gonna be an odd one out," Neal points out.

"Someone has to guard Henry," Emma says.

"I'll do it," Regina volunteers. She wasn't looking forward to tramping around the woods with a point of a love triangle or a demented fairy like this was the freaking buddy system anyway.

"Are you sure?" asks Emma.

"Of course I'm sure," Regina rolls her eyes. "Besides, with Rumple locked inside that box, I'm the one most likely to be able to protect our son from that twisted teenager."

Emma nods. "Okay. In that case, I'll go with—"

"Me!" Neal and Hook both burst out simultaneously. They turn to glare at each other.

"…Tink," Emma says, backing away from the two men slowly until she is standing next to the fairy. "I'll go with Tink."

Hook turns to Neal. "Guess it's just you and me, mate," he says, grinning his pirate grin.

"I'm not your mate," Neal huffs moodily.

"We'll meet back here in about an hour, okay?" Charming says, and everyone nods and starts off on their path, going in separate directions.

Regina rolls her eyes. She really is getting sick of all of them. It'll be good to get away from them for a little while, even if her only company will be her dying son.

Just as she's thinking this, she hears a rustle of foliage coming from behind her. She turns sharply. She and the others had been talking behind some tall bushes, leaving Henry a few feet away to rest by the fire. They'd quickly found that talking about him while he lay there in front of them was incredibly awkward, and they'd taken to talking behind the bushes. Someone always had their eye on him, on course, but this way it was like he wasn't really dying nearby. It was more like he was sleeping and they'd crept away to talking without waking him.

Regina peers through the bushes and gets a clear view of Peter Pan approaching her son. Her first instinct is to jump out to defend him, but she holds herself back. Pan doesn't know she's here, that's apparent, and if he'd wanted to kill Henry _faster_, he would have done so already. And since Pan doesn't know she's here, she has the upper hand in this situation, something she sorely needs. Who knows, Pan might even say something that will give her some kind of information. While Charming & Co. are off gallivanting in the woods, probably narrowly avoiding getting themselves killed, Regina might actually find out something helpful.

"Hello, Henry," Pan says, kneeling down next to him. He brushes some hair out of Henry's eyes, an almost tender look coming over his own face that makes Regina lift an eyebrow. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Henry," Pan says, and is Regina imagining it, or is that true remorse in his voice?

Regina has no time to wonder about it, though, because suddenly, Pan is leaning down and kissing Henry full on the mouth…and all thoughts leave Regina's mind except OH MY GOD. And as if this wasn't enough, she sees a streak of gold flow from Peter Pan's chest into Henry's. What the _hell _is going on?!

The minute Pan breaks away from Henry, Henry's eyes fly open, and he breathes in deeply. Shock, confusion, and joy seem to battle it out to be the dominating emotion on Pan's face. "Henry!" he cries, smiling.

Henry blinks slowly. "What…what happened?"

"I—"

"He took your heart so that he could be immortal and you would die," Regina says, stepping out of the bushes.

Pan jumps up, startled. It's one of the first times she's seen him off guard.

"Is that true?" Henry looks to Pan, pleading in his eyes.

"Yes. It is," Regina states firmly.

"I'm afraid she's right, Henry," Peter Pan admits, surprisingly honest. "I needed the heart of the truest believer to keep from dying myself."

"But…if that's true, then how am I alive?"

Neither Regina nor Pan has an answer to this. Finally, Regina says, "I don't know how that happened, but I do know that _he _can't be trusted. You need to leave," she threatens Pan, "before I blow your head off."

Regina expects Pan to laugh in her face, but he just smirks and says mockingly, "As you wish, my lady."

Suddenly, he's standing right behind her, and whispers into her ear, "But I saved Henry. Not you. Remember that." Then he disappears.

Henry sits up and looks around. "Where's everybody else?"

"They went off to look for something to cure you. They should be back in about an hour."

"Are you sure you don't have any idea how I'm alive right now?" Henry asks.

"I really don't," Regina tells him.

Henry turns away from her, looking hurt. "You're lying. But that's okay. I'll find out eventually."

"I'm not lying," Regina protests.

"Yes you are. But I get it. You're my mom. You still feel like you have to protect me from the truth, even though I know I can take it."

Regina gets a long look and Henry, and notices to her dismay how much older he seems. Somehow, despite being in a place where you stay a child forever, Henry has aged. She can't help but bitterly blame Pan for this development. He'd taken away her son and changed him for good.

"Why did you give him your heart, Henry?" Regina asks suddenly. "You'd only known him, what, a few days? And you were willing to trust him over me? And Emma and Neal? What were you thinking?"

Henry is silent for a few moments, then says, "I believed him. I believed _in_ him." This ends the conversation until the first pair comes bumbling back into the clearing.

"We barely made it out of there—Henry!" Emma cries, running and embracing the boy. "What the hell happened?" she asks Regina, still holding Henry tight while Tinker Bell stands awkwardly in the back.

"I'm still not…really sure," Regina fumbles, not knowing what to say or how. Luckily, Emma seems to take the hint and doesn't ask any more questions.

"You could've gotten us killed!" Neal is yelling at Hook.

"Oi, mate, that was all on you," Hook replies, an interesting mix of amused and annoyed.

"Are you kidding me?! And how many times do I have to say, _I am not your mate_." Neal notices Emma and walks over to her, still raging. "I swear, if you ever make me go _anywhere_ with that pirate again—"

"Neal," Emma tries to interject.

"He just—"

"Neal."

"And then—"

"Neal!"

"What?"

"Henry's awake."

"WHAT?"

Emma just nods and points at Henry.

"Oh my God!" Neal cries, running over to him. "You're awake! How did this happen?"

"We're not sure," Emma answers.

"Well, Regina was here, right? What happened?"

Regina shrugs. "I don't know. I turned my back for one second and I turned back and there he was." She doesn't mention Pan's involvement, and Henry doesn't correct her. For that, she's grateful, but she knows it won't last long.

Snow and David arrive last, and there is more hugging and questions. When everything is calm, Emma says, "All right, even though Henry is okay now, I still think our game plan should stay the same."

"And what's that?" Henry asks.

"To kill Pan, and then get off the island. I ran into some lost boys, and one of them told me where Pan is hiding. We go there, kill him off, get Rumple, and get out."

"No!" Henry cries, jumping up.

"What's the matter?" David asks.

"You can't kill Pan. I won't let you."

Snow's eyebrows draw together in confusion. "But, Henry, why? He was going to kill you."

"But he didn't. He _saved _me. I don't know how, but he did something. He was there when I woke up."

Everyone turns to Regina. "Is this true?" Snow asks.

Regina looks at the floor. "I did…see…something," she gets out at last.

"Well, what was it?" Snow pesters.

"I don't know how to say it!" Regina snaps. "Especially not in front of all of you. And especially not in front of Henry."

There's a silence, and then David breaks it with, "You know what, we're running low on firewood. We should all go look for some." It's a very weak excuse to get everyone away from camp, but it works. Everyone gets up and prepares to go search for firewood.

"I'll stay and guard the camp with Regina," Emma says. Henry gives one last look at Regina, and then everyone leaves, leaving Emma and Regina alone.

"Okay, cut the crap, Regina," Emma says bluntly. "What the hell happened?"

Regina sighs. "I was still behind the bushes when Pan entered the clearing, and he didn't know I was there. I stayed hidden and watched as Pan…well…"

"Out with it. What did Pan do?"

"He…kissed him."

"_What_?"

"That's not all. While that was…happening…I saw a trail of gold go from Pan's chest to Henry's. That's when Henry woke up."

"So it's like…" Emma still looks extremely disturbed. "It's like what happened with Snow and David. They…kissed, and Henry woke up? End of story?"

"Except it's different this time. Snow was under a sleeping curse. Henry was nearly dead."

"So…what?"

"Well, unfortunately, I've heard of something like this before. It might not be what's happened here, but it seems possible. It's called heart sharing. If you take someone's heart to use as your own, and then do something to let part of it go into the original owner, like True Love's Kiss, for example, your hearts become linked. If one of them were to die, the other would die as well."

"And you think that's what's happened here? That Pan and Henry are sharing a heart?"

Regina shrugs. "It seems likely. Of course, that poses an obvious problem."

"Yeah," Emma snarls. "We can't kill the psychotic bastard without killing Henry too."

"Like I said, I'm not positive that's what's happening here."

"And Henry doesn't know that's how he woke up?"

"No. He woke up after Pan had already pulled away."

Emma runs her hands through her hair. "Jesus Christ. How are we supposed to tell Henry all this?"

"I don't know. I could barely tell you."

"We'll just have to tell him together," Emma says. "But…do you think this means that Pan is…Henry's true love?"

Regina shudders. "God, I hope not."

The group comes back then, armed with firewood. Emma goes and has a quick talk with her parents and Neal, and Hook walks over and stands next to Regina. "So, what's going on, then?"

"Pan kissed Henry. That's what woke him up. And now I think they may be sharing the same heart, which means if we kill Pan, Henry dies as well." The words came quickly and easily. Unlike with Emma, Regina didn't feel like she had anything to prove to Hook, and could speak freely with him.

Hook's eyebrows shoot up. "Pan and the boy?"

Regina nods, and Hook whistles. "Well, I've got to say, I didn't see it coming. I didn't think that demon was capable of love."

"He's not. It's go to be some kind of mistake."

Hook smirks, and shrugs. "Whatever you say, your Majesty."

Emma walks back over to Regina, leaving her parents and Neal in shocked silence. "Well, now that everyone knows except Henry," Emma gestures to where the boy is sitting on a log, staring at the ground, "let's go tell him."

They march over to him, as cheerful as a funeral procession, and kneel next to him. Henry looks up. "Are you finally ready to tell me what's going on?"

"Yes," Emma says. Then she stops. Now what?

Regina sighs. She's said this twice now, so she's hoping it'll be somewhat automatic. "Pan kissed you to wake you up."

Henry lurches back, obviously shocked. "He…he—"

"Yes," Regina continued, wanting to get this over with, "and that's not it. It's a possibility that you two are now sharing the same heart, which means if Pan dies, so do you."

"But we don't know that for sure," Emma butts in, casting a warning look at Regina. Regina shrugs, as if to say, _Hey, you didn't want to tell him_.

"But…what's that supposed to mean? The…kiss?" Henry seems extremely distraught, and Regina feels guilty for laying it all out there so harshly.

She tries to speak gently when she says, "We don't know. It might not mean anything." But anyone can see she doesn't believe this is the case.

Henry's face hardens, and he jumps up. "I have to talk to Pan." Then he's running into the trees.

"Henry!" Regina calls, but Emma puts a hand on her arm.

"Let him go," she says. "He just needs time to sort things out."

"So you think it's perfectly fine to let our son run off alone? This island is dangerous."

"I know. But he needs answers, and I think Pan is the only one who can give them to him. And besides," Emma says, beginning to walk away, "if they really are sharing a heart, you can be sure Pan will do everything in his power to protect Henry."

Regina just sighs. "This is so messed up."

Henry is running through trees, and he feels as if he will never stop until his foot catches on a root and he falls flat in the dirt.

"Need a hand?"

Henry looks up slowly, and there he is, the one responsible for his almost death, as well as his life. Peter Pan.

"No. I'm fine." Henry scrambles to his feet, and brushes dirt off himself. "What I need is for you to tell me what is going on."

"Ah." Peter Pan takes a step closer, and Henry instinctively takes a step back. "I assume Regina told you the whole story?"

"Yes, but I still don't know what any of it _means_."

Pan shrugs. "I'm afraid I can't really help you there. I haven't got a clue what any of it _means_, but I'm alive, and you're alive. That seems like a good thing, doesn't it?"

"To _you_, maybe," Henry sulks.

"Tut, tut, Henry. Don't tell me you wouldn't miss me if I were dead?" When Henry says nothing, Pan strides up to him and places Henry's hand against his own chest. "Feel that, Henry. We have the same heart now. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

At that moment, David and Snow come bursting through the trees, everyone else right behind them. "Get away from my grandson!" David yells, drawing his sword.

"NO!" Emma and Regina scream simultaneously, but it's too late. David swings his sword full force at Peter Pan.

Pan swerves quickly, but not quite quickly enough. The sword pierces his right arm, and his sleeve is soon wet with blood. Pan hardly flinches, but Henry screams in pain and shock as his own right arm starts bleeding.

"Oh my god, Henry!" David cries, and runs over to him. "What have I done?"

"Well, I guess this proves the heart sharing theory," Emma says grimly.

Peter is grinning evilly. "Guess it does. You're lucky I heal quickly." Sure enough, both of the boys' arms gaping wounds were becoming small wounds, and then just large scars.

"This is awful!" Snow gasps.

"It's not so bad, Snow White," Pan consoles mockingly. "You just can't kill me."

"Oh, we will find a way to kill you," Regina growls. "Just not here. You're going to get that Pandora's box, and you're coming back to Storybrooke with us."

Pan laughs. "And why on earth would I do that?"

Regina smiles. "Because you won't have a choice. We will find a way to leave this island if you don't help us, and we'll take Henry with us. And you and I both know shared hearts won't survive across realms."

Pan's face darkens. "You would be risking Henry's life as well if you did that."

"Considering your self-preservation skills, I doubt you would let it go that far."

Pan pauses, thinking it over. If he tries to make them stay, or even tries to kill them, it would just be a long time of wasted effort. If anything can be said about the Charming family, it's that they're persistent. And from what he's learned about Regina, and what he knows about Hook, he knows they won't give up either. The whole situation is extremely irritating. "I'll go with you," he starts slowly, "and give you back your Dark One, on one condition."

Regina snorts, but Emma asks, "Which is?"

Pan smiles. "I can bring my boys with me."

"All of them? You've got to be kidding," Regina rolls her eyes.

Pan shrugs. "I'm not just going to leave them here to go on without me. They're…well, they're my family."

This seems to make up Emma's mind. "All right, they can come along. And you can bring Wendy too. Bring the whole damn island."

"Well, that pretty much covers it," Pan says.

Within minutes, Pan has all of his lost boys (thankfully, there aren't as many of them as everyone thought), Pandora's box, and Wendy gathered, ready to board Hook's ship. They all clamber on, the lost boys heading for the lower decks. One boy, the youngest of the lot, stays. He looks up at Pan and asks, "Why are we leaving?"

Pan kneels down to his level and puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Because, John…it's time to grow up."

This rare display of kindness does not go unnoticed by Regina, or Henry. Regina sees Henry smile to himself, and she turns away. How could Henry possibly have that kind of expression regarding Pan after all he's done?

"All right, Pan," Hook says. "How are we getting off this island?"

"Start sailing." Hook complies, leading the ship into the sea. After the boat is completely in the water, Pan closes his eyes and waves his hand over the water. A portal appears.

Regina can't hide her shock. "Are you really that powerful?"

Pan smirks. "Why, yes, I am, Evil Queen. Jealous?"

"Of course not. Now would you let Rumple out of that box, please?"

Pan does his hand waving thing again, and Rumplestiltskin appears in front of them. "What's happened? Where are we going?"

"Back to Storybrooke," Emma answers.

Rumple notices Peter Pan. "With _him_?"

"And all the lost boys."

Rumple raises his eyebrows.

"It's a long story," Regina sighs, "and I'm not telling it again."


	2. Chapter 2

"So, this is Storybrooke?" Peter Pan says, looking around. "It's a bit small, don't you think, Queen?"

"I didn't create it to impress you," Regina growls. She isn't sure where Nice Pan who talked to John came from, but she hasn't seen him since. Since that moment, all he's done is try to get a rise out of anyone he could find. He'd ticked off Hook, Charming, Emma, Neal, Tinkerbell, and even managed to get _Mary Margaret _to snap at him. And that was just on the ride back! Regina hates to think what it will be like _living _in this town with him. Hopefully they'll find a way to reverse the whole heart sharing thing and kill Pan for good. And soon.

"Doesn't look like you were trying to impress anyone," Pan mutters.

"Hey, shut it, kid," Emma snaps. "Just because we can't hurt you doesn't mean you can talk to people like that, acting like you own the place."

Pan raises an eyebrow. "It doesn't?"

He starts to walk away, and Regina calls, "Hey! Where are you going?"

Pan turns around and says, "I'm just going for a little tour. Getting the lay of the land. If any of you care to join me, you're more than welcome." Felix and most of the lost boys walk up to join him. He's about to continue walking, when he pauses once more. "You can come too, Henry." Henry looks from Emma to Regina, who are both obviously opposed to the idea. Pan rolls his eyes. "Come, come, Henry," he says. "You don't need your mothers' permission for everything you do. Besides, you know this town better than any of us. You could be our tour guide. Show us around."

To everyone's shock and dismay, Henry pulls out of Emma and Regina's grip to join Pan.

"Henry!" Regina yells. "Get back here!"

She's about to use magic to pull him back, but Emma grabs her wrist and says quietly, "Don't."

"I'll be fine," Henry assures them, but no one really seems convinced.

"Yes, don't worry," Pan says, batting his eyes innocently. "I'll be sure to get him back before dark." With that, Henry starts walking down the road, pointing things out. Pan follows, smirking.

Regina looks like smoke's about to come pouring out of her ears. "God, that kid…"

"I know," Emma says.

"What the hell, Emma?" Regina whirls around on her. "What were you thinking, letting Henry go off with him? After what he did?"

"He needs to feel free to make his own decisions," Emma says quietly. "We can't just pull him back with magic whenever we feel like it, even if it seems like the right thing to do, or he'll never trust us."

Regina rolls her eyes. "What makes you think you know what's best for Henry? Because you know so much about parenting?"

"I don't know much about parenting," Emma admits, "but I know that if you try to keep him too close, it'll only push him farther away. The same thing happened when I came to Storybrooke. No offense, but I think you need to try a different approach."

Trying not to show how much the words stung, Regina scowls, "And what approach would you suggest, Miss Swan? Just let him run wild, allow him to go off with…_him_?"

"No," Emma sighs. "But loosen the reins a little, okay? Look, we're both back now, ready to make a fresh start with him. We should get this whole parent thing right."

"Um…"

Emma and Regina turn around and finally realize that they have an audience.

"I'm Henry's parent too?" Neal says, but it comes out more like a question.

"Shut up, Neal," is Emma's only reply, and she turns back to Regina. "In the meantime, how much trouble could he get into?"

At the moment, not much. As Pan had said, the town was fairly small, and there really wasn't much to tour. It isn't long before everyone ends up at Granny's Diner.

Granny raises her eyebrows at the troop of boys walking into her diner. "Who the hell are they?" she asks Henry.

"They're the lost boys," Henry answers, smiling.

Granny rolls her eyes. "Of course they are," she mutters. "And what are they doing here?"

"I'm just giving them a tour around town, introducing them to everybody."

At that moment, Belle walks in the door. She sees Henry first and runs over to him. "Henry!" she cries. "You're okay!" Then she looks up and notices all the boys standing around him. "Um…"

"I believe she'd like an introduction, Henry," Pan says.

"Of course. This is—"

"Peter Pan," Pan says with a smirk, stepping forward. "And you must be Belle."

Belle seems a bit dumbstruck. "But…you're supposed to be…"

"Dead? Yes, well, it didn't seem to work out that way."

"Peter Pan?!" Granny yells, grabbing a broom and running toward him. "I'll smash your face in, you evil little bastard…"

"No!" Henry cries quickly. "You can't."

"Henry, I know you're a nice kid, but last time I checked, he was the bad guy."

"Bad guy or not, you can't hurt him," Henry says evenly.

"And why not?" Granny asks exasperatedly.

"Because he…because I…"

"Because Henry and I share the same heart," Pan steps in. "We're linked. Whatever happens to me, happens to him. So if you were to 'smash my face in', as you so elegantly put, the same would happen to Henry."

Granny lowers the broom slightly. "Is he telling the truth?" she asks Henry.

Henry nods.

"All right then. I guess I can't kill you. But I still want you outta my diner," Granny orders, heading back to the kitchen.

Pan shrugs. "As you wish. You coming, Henry?"

Henry is about to say yes, until he sees the look Belle is giving him. "I'll be there in a minute," he replies. Pan and the Lost Boys exit the diner, leaving Henry with Belle.

"Why are you with him?" Belle asks frantically the moment they're alone. "What's going on? And if you're going to ask me if I've seen the others, I have, but no one would tell me anything! Not even Rumple!"

"I guess they don't want to talk about it," Henry says.

"Talk about _what_? That's the problem—I have no idea what's going on! How are you and Pan sharing a heart?"

Henry had never really interacted with Belle much, but at this moment he feels bad for her. It's obvious that she's frustrated, and while he kind of understands why his family didn't want to tell her what happened, he also thinks it's kind of unfair that they left it to him. He takes a breath. "Pan kissed me. When he did, part of his heart went back into me, and now we're linked. That's all I know."

Belle's eyes grow wide, and her jaw drops a bit. Henry tries not to notice.

"Way to dull it down, Henry." Belle and Henry both start and turn around to see Pan, leaning against the door, arms crossed. "You didn't even tell her the bit where your heroic grandfather tried to kill me."

"How long have you been there?" Henry asks crossly.

Pan ignores him, instead sauntering over to Belle. "It would be a lot more fun if you pretended this never happened," he says, "and asked everyone else again. It's hilarious to watch them all squirm."

Belle searches for something to say, but can't seem to find anything. Eventually she just says, "I'll see you around, Henry." Then she leaves.

"Well, she's not very fun," Pan mutters after her. "Anywhere else to go on this tour of Storybrooke?" he asks as they walk outside to where the Lost Boys are waiting for them.

"Not really," Henry answers. "Except…well, I guess I could show you guys my house."

Pan smiles. "That sounds lovely. Boys!" he calls, getting everyone's attention. "Henry has graciously agreed to let us into his house. I trust you'll all be courteous guests?"

As all the Lost Boys nod, Henry feels a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. These boys have been living on an island with no rules for who knows how long. Hopefully they won't do too much damage, he thinks as they walk to his house.

"Oh my god!" Regina screams the second she enters her house. There are Lost Boys everywhere she turns, swinging off the staircase, throwing anything they can find, using her furniture as leaping pads. What are they doing here?!

She sees the answer sitting on a couch, carrying on a normal conversation with her son, seemingly oblivious to the destruction around him. She storms over to him. "What are you doing in my house?" she yells.

Pan stops speaking to smirk at her. "Henry invited us."

"Henry?" she turns to her son, ignoring the evidence and hoping it's not true.

Henry ducks his head a little. "There was nowhere else to go, so…"

"So you let these hooligans into our home?"

Henry gives a small shrug. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And I can just imagine who put the idea in your head." Regina turns to Pan, venom dripping from her words as she says, "I don't want you around my son. Ever. Now take your boys and get out."

"Mom!" Henry protests, but Pan gets up.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," he says, giving a mocking bow. "Come on, boys! We know when we're not wanted."

"But where are we going to sleep?" One of the younger ones asks. "It's getting late."

"Don't worry, we'll find someplace," Pan tells him, shooting a look at Regina.

"Well, I don't need to sleep!" One of the others cries indignantly.

Pan laughs. "Then you won't. Felix and I never sleep, isn't that right, Felix? You can stay up with us."

Soon, nearly all the Lost Boys are saying how they're going to stay up, too, and Pan is chuckling. "Looks like we're pulling an all-nighter."

Pan watches as all of the boys exit the house, and Henry begins to cross over to him. Regina grabs his arm, but Henry yanks it away, growling, "At least let me say goodbye."

Regina looks on helplessly as Henry walks over to Pan. They exchange a few words, and then Pan leans down a little and whispers something into Henry's ear. He pulls away, and Henry nods. Then Pan leaves, flicking his wrist to shut the door loudly behind him.

"What did he say to you?" Regina asks.

"Nothing."

Regina is about to question him further when Emma opens the door. "Did I just see—oh, wow." Emma's eyes bulge when she sees the destruction the boys had caused. "What happened here?"

"Henry decided to invite Pan and his friends over for a playdate," Regina answers sarcastically. "You see the result."

"Um…" Emma rocks back and forth on her feet awkwardly. "Do you need any help cleaning up?"

"Oh, that's no problem," Regina says, waving her hand and setting everything back in its proper place.

"Oh." Emma stops rocking.

"If that was so easy to do, why did you get so mad at everyone for being here?" Henry asks indignantly.

"It's not everyone. It's Pan."

"He didn't even do anything!"

"Henry, this isn't about the house. I don't want you around him. He's a very bad person. You don't know what he's capable of."

"I've gotta go with your mom on this one," Emma says. "He's a bad dude. Just…steer clear of him, okay?"

"Why should I? Because he's done bad things?" Henry yells. "By that logic, I should steer clear of both of you, and pretty much everyone else in Storybrooke."

"Henry, this is different," Regina starts to say.

"No, it's not! He's done nothing worse than you have!"

Regina flinches, but doesn't back down. "He tried to kill you!"

"I'm not dead, Mom! And the only reason I can say that is because he saved me. I know he's done bad things, but he can change. I know it! I have the heart of the truest believer, and I believe in him!"

Regina waits a moment before saying in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Henry, but I still think you should stay away from him."

"It's not the end of the world, kid," Emma tries to comfort him, but Henry's already running up the stairs, tears in his eyes.

"What a mess," Regina mutters, sitting down on the couch and putting her head in her hands.

"That's for sure," Emma says, hesitating a moment before sitting next to her.

"You don't suppose that Pan…I don't know, cast some kind of curse on Henry? Has him under some kind of spell that's making him act like this?"

"If love is a curse, then yes," Emma sighs. Regina looks at her in horror. "Okay, Regina, I know the idea freaks you out, but you have to face facts. The whole kiss thing wasn't a mistake. You know what it means."

"I don't care," Regina growls stubbornly. "I still don't want that demon around our son."

"And I understand why," Emma says.

"Do you, Miss Swan? Because you didn't raise him. I did. You don't know what it's like to have only one person to care about, and then have him almost taken away from you once, only to start losing him again. First it was you, now it's…_him_."

"You're right. I don't have any idea how you feel," Emma says exasperatedly, standing up. "But I'm his mother, too, you know. Whether you like it or not."

"I know. I'm…sorry." Emma is a bit taken aback. Regina apologizing? Pan must have really gotten under her skin. "Could you…talk to Henry? Maybe you would have more luck with him than I did."

Emma smiles a little. "Yeah, sure." She walks up the stairs to see her son.

When she opens the door, she can tell that Henry just sat down on his bed, as he seems overly posed with this book open on his lap, obviously not being read. He looks up and smiles at her. "Hey kid," she greets him, sitting down on the bed. "Whatcha up to?"

"Nothing," he replies a little too innocently.

"You sure?"

"Of course." He gives her a cheeky grin, and she smiles despite herself.

"Okay, listen, Henry, about Pan…"

Henry's face darkens and he looks away.

"Hey." He looks at her again. "I know your mom and I might have seemed a bit harsh, but we just want what's best for you."

"How would you know what's best for me?" Henry snaps.

"Look, kid, I'm not going to pretend to know what's going on in your head. But I do know you have a thing for happy endings. Let me just tell you: Pan isn't yours. He tried to kill you, for God's sake!"

"Everyone can change," Henry mutters.

"Not everyone wants to."

"So that means we shouldn't give them a chance?"

Emma gets up from the bed. "Kid, I'm not telling you what to do. That's Regina's job. But I stand by what I said. I don't think he's what's best for you."

Henry is silent. Emma sighs.

"Could you at least...think about it?" Emma finally pleads, seeing she's not really getting anywhere.

"Okay. I'll think about it."

Knowing that's the best she's going to get, Emma leaves and closes the door, leaving Henry to "think about it".

"How'd it go?" Regina asks when Emma reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"About as well as I expected," Emma says. "He's one stubborn kid."

"Tell me about it."

A moment of silence, then Emma says, "Well, I'd better be going. Uh...see you around?"

Regina just nods, and Emma heads back to her shared apartment.

When she gets there, she is bombarded with questions. "Did you find out what was happening? Why were the Lost Boys coming out of Regina's house? Was Henry there? Is he okay?" Mary Margaret finally stops talking enough to wait for Emma to answer her questions.

"Henry invited them over. They trashed the place. Regina kicked them out. Me and her tried to convince Henry to stay away from Pan, but it didn't go over so well."

"Why? Henry should know how evil Pan is. I don't understand."

"I've been trying to figure it out myself." Emma sits down. "This is what I've got so far: Henry's the truest believer, right? It's, like, his job to believe in things. And people. So here's this boy, who's 100% evil, worse than Regina. And Henry thinks it's his job to get Pan to be good. To…I don't know, fix him."

"And that's it?"

"Well…no. I also think there's the whole kiss thing. Like, Henry spends so much time trying to find everyone's happy endings, and now he thinks Pan is his. And honestly…feelings. Henry feels something for Pan, and Pan obviously feels something for Henry, or else he wouldn't have kissed him, and the kiss wouldn't have worked."

Throughout Emma's whole speech, Mary Margaret's eyes had gotten watery, and now tears spill free. "I don't want that demon to be Henry's true love," she whispers.

"I know."

As the night grows older, everyone tries to forget about Pan and his Lost Boys roaming free, and eventually they all drift off to sleep. All except one.

Henry is wide awake and sitting on his bed, staring at the clock. 11:57. Only three minutes to go.

Henry replays Pan's whispered words over and over, the shiver going through his spine as real as when Pan first said them. "Be at your window at midnight if you want to join the fun."

And when the clock finally hits midnight, that's exactly where he is. And there's Pan, waiting below. He raises his hand, and the window opens. Henry feels an odd sensation as he's lifted from his room and lowered onto the ground. He lands a bit unsteadily, stumbling slightly but managing to right himself. Pan puts a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"All right there, Henry?" Pan asks, genuinely concerned.

Henry nods, and Pan grins. "Good. Now…let's play."


End file.
